The Force is With Hickory in 2017 Canstruction Event

The objective? To build holiday-themed sculptures made entirely out of cans. For the last 10 years, teams of architects, engineers, designers and other construction professionals have come together to create aluminum works of art for various awards such as ‘Best Use of Labels,’ ‘Best Execution of Concept,’ and ‘Holiday Hilarity.’

Hickory Construction’s team member Tyler Fest explains, “As an industry, being able to get together and do something to benefit the Second Harvest is fantastic. Especially when it involves contractors, architects, and engineers using their creative brains to design awesome structures. We had to put a huge effort into getting as many cans as we could donated to Second Harvest, in addition to creating a good looking product”

In September, Hickory began collaborating with Michael Brady Inc. to come up with a design. The original concept featured a canned R2D2 but wanted to go above and beyond. The team put their heads together and decided to add BB8 and four lightsabers to their display.

A few days leading up to Canstruction, the team began cutting and assembling the foundational structure of the design. This allowed them to stack the cans into the desired shapes the day of the build. Their final design, “Silent Night, Jedi Knight,” was awarded the Kids’ Choice Award voted on by children from East Tennessee Children’s Hospital.

“It’s always fun to come together in a little friendly competition between construction companies,” Fest says. “It’s interesting to look around and see the designs everybody comes up with and how they put them together.”